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THE DEUTSCHE BANK PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP OF EUROPE

July 27, 2007

Zane Scotland

ALVESLOHE, GERMANY

THE MODERATOR: Zane, thanks for coming in and joining us. It's been a few years since you were last in the interview room. Here you're leading at the halfway stage of the Deutsche Bank Players' Championship. How are you feeling at the moment?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Felt great to be at the top of the leader board at a tournament with players like this. It's brilliant. It's why I practice and why I play, really. So I couldn't ask to be in a better position. Maybe one shot better.
THE MODERATOR: Great round out there today, finishing off with a birdie. Bit of excitement in your group as well, with holding second shot to win the Audi. Nice finish.
ZANE SCOTLAND: It was scary a little bit actually. With him making two there, a part of the lead, and it was a nice end.
THE MODERATOR: We'll take some questions.

Q. They say it's difficult to follow a good round with another good one. But presumably you didn't have that problem today?
ZANE SCOTLAND: No, no, it worked out pretty well actually. Finishing yesterday and then getting up today and seeing the wind howling and the rain coming down, I felt it was going to be a different day today.
So I saw my number, but constructed in a completely different way. 3 off the tee. Pretty cautious from the tee, and I was much more scrambling, where yesterday it was much more go for the pins. And today it was the best because I got it, to be honest.

Q. How difficult was it? It seemed to be on and off with the rain gear every five minutes, the sun came out, the wind, three or four different conditions?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Yes, one minute jacket in the mix, it was pretty warm. Mainly trying to keep some concentration. Because you sort of
rush around ripping your jacket off trying to hit a shot, goes the wind, a day for a good caddy. Pete did me proud.

Q. How long have you been with Pete?
ZANE SCOTLAND: I literally just came on the bag on the French Open and this is the second time I met him. I played that way when I qualified for the Open, came in with Phil Price and seemed like a nice guy, got along well.
The chance came up to work in France, jumped at it. So then to come here and have someone like him on the bag, he's experienced, he's seen the course. It's a big confidence boost for me because I feel like I've been here before. It's good.

Q. Talking like that, Zane, were you still actually 16 when you played? Sorry to go through the nitty-gritty, but when you turned 17, I see that your birthday, the 17th?
ZANE SCOTLAND: I was 16 for the days I played. I turned 17 on Saturday. Fortunately I missed the cut and stayed 16.

Q. Another question I wanted to ask you. Do you call your aunt in Scotland Auntie Pat?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Auntie Pat, that's right.

Q. Your hat, yesterday you had a red animal on it; today you've got a gray animal.
ZANE SCOTLAND: It's a puma (indiscernible), that's what they gave me.

Q. Obviously a big weekend, possibly for you, Zane, in terms of cars and money and et cetera. How do you approach it, and are you feeling confident still being around the business end come Sunday afternoon?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Yeah, for sure. I'm playing well. I've been playing well for a couple of months now. The way the first two days have gone, no reason why I can't carry on. We're in pretty good shape.
I'm enjoying this little stretch. I'll just keep that going. Keep my momentum. Don't think about it too much, just enjoy being here, because this is why I've been practicing so hard. To get nervous, for instance; so, yes, it's cool.
THE MODERATOR: Details of the birdies. Start on the 10th.
ZANE SCOTLAND: 10th, drove it through the fairway, hit a pitching wedge into about 10 feet, made birdie there.
13, actually sat on my 3-iron off the tee and got about 10 feet, made birdie there also.
17, I hit it in the tee shot, into some trees, had to get back out, hit 5-iron, so about 6 feet there. And the fourth hole, I hit driver into the left semi and hit 9-iron to about 2 feet.
And par 3, fifth hole, 4-iron, went off to the left about 35 feet and hold a curling putt about 10 feet break on it. And then the last hole, 3 was down the fairway and 9-iron into about 15 feet and right in the middle.

Q. Two drop shots on the par 3s on first, 14?
ZANE SCOTLAND: 14, I just misjudged the wind, came up a little short on the outside and had a bad line on the bunker, couldn't get a start on it. So missed a putt. And 6, 3-putted from about 35 feet.

Q. Seems tough to say this to somebody who is only 25, did you ever get frustrated thinking that days like this might not come after what happened to when you were so young? Did you ever think with the crash and everything that this wasn't going to happen?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Yes, sure. Things went pretty well for me after the Open, immediately after the Open. I had a (indiscernible) career, won some national titles. And then I was in a car crash, which really messed up my neck and I couldn't play properly, couldn't practice properly up until about a year ago where I started going to a new clinic in London, sports medicine. They really helped me.
Since then I started to practice, had to practice as an amateur and play as much I would like to. Made a big difference because at the time there I was sitting at home watching because my neck aches thinking is this going to be for the rest of my days, sort of thing. It's a horrible thing. I don't want to go through ever again. And it was times, you know I'm, at home and mom or dad sort of kept me going.
Without them, might have been a different story. But you hang onto the little glimmer of hope thinking that I'm going to make it.
Then I see some of my friends on the TV, people like James Hayes or Nick Dougherty, whoever, doing real well. You stick with it. You were there one day and hopefully it's happening.

Q. Zane, what's the longest period of time you went without hitting a ball?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Probably four months, I would say. I had three stretches. I had two months, three months and four months that I wasn't allowed to hit a ball, which was very frustrating for somebody that currently golfs.

Q. What put you on to the new clinic and what were they able to do differently that helped you?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Basically, I did an interview for -- in Europe Tour, that's how I struggled with my fitness and I wasn't able to play very much. And the guys there called and said, look, we really think we can help this guy. Yes, they've helped me out free of charge, which has been fantastic, and really got me going.
The difference is that they've been very thorough and I see them probably every three, four weeks. It's an injury I think I'm always going to have to handle. But if I get the right treatment, sort of keep that, it's not a matter of it's okay now, it's just a matter of constant treatment.

Q. Was it whiplash or something worse?
ZANE SCOTLAND: Pretty much whiplash. It moved two vertebrae in my neck to the right. So like my spine was out of line and the muscles, also, as you can imagine having chronic neck pain. At times it was like having a knife in my neck and trying to hit a ball, it just wasn't happening.

Q. As you said, they're treating you for -- you were given -- what was the name of it again?
ZANE SCOTLAND: (Indiscernible) Sports Medicine.

Q. That's in London?
ZANE SCOTLAND: In Kensington.

Q. Refresh my aging memory with how the accident happened?
ZANE SCOTLAND: I was driving down a residential road. There was a give-away sign. And a car came from my left and turned right into my road but looking the other way without stopping and just mashed into the side of me. I spun off the road.
THE MODERATOR: Have a good weekend this week.

End of FastScripts

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